2005_03_Session_A_sample speeches

1. Do young people today have too much leisure time?

I think that throughout history the older generations have tended to complain about the younger generations. It seems that adults often accuse youth of being pampered and lazy, and of having too much leisure time. However, it seems clear to me that young people today are for the most part studying hard and fighting the right balance between work and play. It is true that some children get obsessed with computer games and waste a lot of their parents are not guiding them properly. In any case, Japan is often said to have a “workaholic” culture and this is internationally perceived to be a rather negative feature of Japan. Japanese high school students still talk about their “exam hell” and most of them, about seventy percent, still got to cram schools and then often have to do homework late into the night. And let’s not forget that many Japanese youngsters are still being sent to preschools before they are five years old. So perhaps we should remember saying “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” and be more careful before accusing young people of enjoying themselves too much.

However, it seems clear to me that young people today are for the most part studying hard and fighting the right balance between work and play. It is true that some children get obsessed with computer games and waste a lot of their parents are not guiding them properly. In any case, Japan is often said to have a “workaholic” culture and this is internationally perceived to be a rather negative feature of Japan. Japanese high school students still talk about their “exam hell” and most of them, about seventy percent, still got to cram schools and then often have to do homework late into the night. And let’s not forget that many Japanese youngsters are still being sent to preschools before they are five years old.

So perhaps we should remember saying “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” and be more careful before accusing young people of enjoying themselves too much.

2. Are consumption taxes a fair way of raising government revenue?

Taxes are never popular. If there is one thing for sure in this life, it is that people will complain about the taxes and resent paying them! However, if we concede that taxes are a necessary evil, then the main question remaining is how to make taxes as fair as possible. In Japan, there has been a 5% consumption tax for several years now, and there are several countries with even higher ones, which often surprises Japanese tourists abroad. Regardless of the country though, most people probably agree that it is fair. A consumption tax is a “flat tax” which means that it is the same for everybody, everywhere. Whether I am a prince or a pauper I would have to pay the same amount of tax when I do my shopping! Also, it is virtually impossible to cheat the system and avoid paying consumption tax. There are no forms that could be filled in dishonesty and no legal loopholes for a tax cheat to slip though. Because of this, it is not surprising that many tax experts in America would like to introduce a consumption tax there.

Taxes are never popular. If there is one thing for sure in this life, it is that people will complain about the taxes and resent paying them!

However, if we concede that taxes are a necessary evil, then the main question remaining is how to make taxes as fair as possible. In Japan, there has been a 5% consumption tax for several years now, and there are several countries with even higher ones, which often surprises Japanese tourists abroad. Regardless of the country though, most people probably agree that it is fair. A consumption tax is a “flat tax” which means that it is the same for everybody, everywhere. Whether I am a prince or a pauper I would have to pay the same amount of tax when I do my shopping! Also, it is virtually impossible to cheat the system and avoid paying consumption tax.

There are no forms that could be filled in dishonesty and no legal loopholes for a tax cheat to slip though. Because of this, it is not surprising that many tax experts in America would like to introduce a consumption tax there.

3. Should everyone be guaranteed a job?

Unfortunately, history has shown us that the dream of full employment remains just that: a dream. In fact, the pursuit of this unrealistic goal has actually created real life nightmares. For example, too many of the factories of much of the former Soviet Union, which were polluting and inefficient, were only created in order to give people jobs that did not need doing. Of course, most people want to work and it can be very demoralizing to look for work and fail to find it, especially if you get rejected several times. Some people might wonder why their government doesn’t create jobs for unemployed people to do. Well, the reason most modern governments do not guarantee a job for everyone is because it is not a good idea in the long term. Governments know that creating jobs out of thin air is counterproductive and is like asking people to dig a big hole in the ground and then fill it up again. This is why government focus on offering training to unemployed people to help develop their skills and equip them to find a meaningful job. This approach is much more effective than the vain attempt of trying to guarantee a job for everyone.

Unfortunately, history has shown us that the dream of full employment remains just that: a dream. In fact, the pursuit of this unrealistic goal has actually created real life nightmares.

For example, too many of the factories of much of the former Soviet Union, which were polluting and inefficient, were only created in order to give people jobs that did not need doing. Of course, most people want to work and it can be very demoralizing to look for work and fail to find it, especially if you get rejected several times. Some people might wonder why their government doesn’t create jobs for unemployed people to do. Well, the reason most modern governments do not guarantee a job for everyone is because it is not a good idea in the long term. Governments know that creating jobs out of thin air is counterproductive and is like asking people to dig a big hole in the ground and then fill it up again.

This is why government focus on offering training to unemployed people to help develop their skills and equip them to find a meaningful job. This approach is much more effective than the vain attempt of trying to guarantee a job for everyone.

4. Have the Olympics become too commercialized?

It is certainly true that the Olympics have become more popular and more international in recent years. Huge amounts of money are spent on holding the games and promoting them, and the athletes can become celebrities if they win a medal. The age of mass media brought the Olympics onto the world stage and made it a truly international spectacle. On the downside, this has led to some athletes using drugs to help them win. It has also meant that most of the events in the Olympics are between professional athletes. There are some people who complain that this has spoilt “the spirit of the games” and there are even some people who believe that all Olympic athletes should still be amateurs! But I feel these criticisms are unrealistic. We cannot turn back the clock. In any case, big money has also brought with it very high standards, and spectators can rely on the Olympic games to have exciting competitions between superbly trained athletes. Also, the amount of advertising is still kept to a minimum, since the Olympic stadiums are not yet fully of billboards advertising Cola or mobile phones. So I think the current Olympics are something to enjoy rather than complain about.

The age of mass media brought the Olympics onto the world stage and made it a truly international spectacle. On the downside, this has led to some athletes using drugs to help them win. It has also meant that most of the events in the Olympics are between professional athletes. There are some people who complain that this has spoilt “the spirit of the games” and there are even some people who believe that all Olympic athletes should still be amateurs! But I feel these criticisms are unrealistic. We cannot turn back the clock.

In any case, big money has also brought with it very high standards, and spectators can rely on the Olympic games to have exciting competitions between superbly trained athletes. Also, the amount of advertising is still kept to a minimum, since the Olympic stadiums are not yet fully of billboards advertising Cola or mobile phones. So I think the current Olympics are something to enjoy rather than complain about.

5. Are humans superior to other life forms?

This is a difficult question to answer with complete accuracy because there could be other life forms on the other planets that we know nothing about, but that are superior to us! Maybe there are populated planets somewhere in the universe where there are no wars or pollution, or greed or stupidity. It’s a nice thought. But of course the more pertinent question is whether we humans are superior to other life forms on our planet. The answer is simple: yes we are superior, and we are the only life forms on the planet that can even discuss the question! But the implications of the answer are not so simple. Granted that we are superior, what are our responsibilities? Well, we should look after the planet so that we do not poison or pollute the environment and thus harm inferior life forms. We should take care not to overfish our oceans or hunt animals to extinction. We should treat inferior life forms with respect and with understanding. It is our moral duty, but we are failing to fulfill this duty far too frequently. Perhaps we are not as superior as we would like to think.

This is a difficult question to answer with complete accuracy because there could be other life forms on the other planets that we know nothing about, but that are superior to us!

Maybe there are populated planets somewhere in the universe where there are no wars or pollution, or greed or stupidity. It’s a nice thought. But of course the more pertinent question is whether we humans are superior to other life forms on our planet. The answer is simple: yes we are superior, and we are the only life forms on the planet that can even discuss the question! But the implications of the answer are not so simple. Granted that we are superior, what are our responsibilities? Well, we should look after the planet so that we do not poison or pollute the environment and thus harm inferior life forms.

We should take care not to overfish our oceans or hunt animals to extinction. We should treat inferior life forms with respect and with understanding. It is our moral duty, but we are failing to fulfill this duty far too frequently. Perhaps we are not as superior as we would like to think.